Voinovich sees need for rescue bill

Monday

WASHINGTON -- The bailout might be bitter fiscal medicine, but it's a vital step toward the cure for what ails America's economy, Sen. George V. Voinovich said yesterday.

The Ohio Republican was one of the few Ohio lawmakers willing to commit to supporting the $700 billion bailout package agreed to by congressional leaders and the White House.

WASHINGTON -- The bailout might be bitter fiscal medicine, but it's a vital step toward the cure for what ails America's economy, Sen. George V. Voinovich said yesterday.

The Ohio Republican was one of the few Ohio lawmakers willing to commit to supporting the $700 billion bailout package agreed to by congressional leaders and the White House.

"I am going to vote for it," Voinovich said in an interview, adding that he has spent hours on the phone talking to Ohioans and other senators and studying the rescue package's provisions. "My concern right now is that we need to move on this thing rapidly. There is a real (financial) deterioration going on around the country."

Voinovich said he is convinced that it isn't just Wall Street financial institutions that need rescuing after making a raft of bad loans. People across the country and hometown banks and businesses will be hit hard by an increasingly tough credit crunch.

"We're talking about a significant impact on jobs," he said. "If we don't settle this thing down, we will see a lot of businesses have to close up because they can't make their payroll, they can't get their money out of the places where they put it."

Taxpayer protections and a move to prevent bailed-out executives from receiving excessive "golden parachute" compensation all should make this a package that Ohio lawmakers can sell as palatable to their constituents, the senator said.

Other Ohio lawmakers weren't as quick to commit yesterday to a package poised for House and Senate floor votes this week.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio still needed to see the details, said a Brown spokeswoman, the same sentiment expressed by several Ohio lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

Public opinion in Ohio and across the country has been critical of the proposed bailout, as many see it as a giveaway to greedy Wall Street executives who made bad decisions. President Bush acknowledged the reluctance of many rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties to embrace the agreement, noting last night that it is a "difficult vote" even as he urged lawmakers to support the measure.

It was House Republicans who balked at an initial agreement reached by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and some congressional Democrats and Senate Republicans. House Republicans apparently have won inclusion of some of what they sought, including having the federal government insure some bad loans rather than buying them outright.

"I'm glad people stood up, or we would have gotten rolled on this proposal," said GOP Rep. David L. Hobson of Springfield, who nonetheless wasn't ready to say yesterday whether he would vote for the bailout when it hit the House floor.

"I do believe this plan is far superior to what we started with," Hobson said. "But it may not be the one we can pass yet because devils are in details. I don't know that yet."

"It has moved in the right direction," said GOP Rep. Pat Tiberi of Genoa Township. But, "I have to get my arms around it. I certainly don't feel like rushing into something without seeing the language. I want to be really comfortable about what is in it before I make a commitment."

Democratic Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Cleveland was clear about his opposition.

"The $700 billion bailout for Wall Street is driven by fear, not fact," Kucinich said. "This is too much money in too short a time going to too few people while too many questions remain unanswered."

jriskind@dispatch.com

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